Regarding the roof vs. cliff: I always felt the traditional cliff setting gave a sense of joining the story in progress, or suggesting a sudden awareness you weren't in Kansas anymore. I prefer the roof setting. lunalafey (and others), I agree with your insight. Real change and freedom starts where you are, starts in your own home, starts in your self, maybe starts with the realization you have already climbed, not just wandered into the wilds. The journey starts before the pack and the staff are gathered.

I see the dog as playing with her, maybe not warning at all. The dog is looking at her or up, not worriedly at the ground.

I like the body she has; it reminds me of the parking scene in _Fried Green Tomatoes_. She may be utterly in touch with her child-like spirit but she's not a child, she's past puberty, and she knows the rythm of the moon. I like the sky's colors blue and white, much better than the traditional yellow and glaring sun. The colors and her gender also speak to more of a moon / Goddess / intuition interpretation.

The bird with the olive branch reminds me of the end of Noah's voyage in the Ark; after all the flood, hope and nenewal of the earth is promised. And I like the fact that the birds are many different kinds.

Originally posted by Seed Crystal Regarding the roof vs. cliff: I always felt the traditional cliff setting gave a sense of joining the story in progress, or suggesting a sudden awareness you weren't in Kansas anymore. I prefer the roof setting. lunalafey (and others), I agree with your insight. Real change and freedom starts where you are, starts in your own home, starts in your self, maybe starts with the realization you have already climbed, not just wandered into the wilds. The journey starts before the pack and the staff are gathered.

I love that line, seed crystal, "the journey starts before the pack and the staff are gathered". Beautiful stuff. Thank you, that is exactly why I think I liked her on the roof. It just hadn't crystallized yet! Glad you are joining us and welcome to AT.

Wow, birds, and birds, everywhere. Looking at the fool this song came running through my head......."come fly away, come fly away with me"......it's one of the old Rat Pack songs, not really sure who sings it

Anyway....I really get a sense of this woman's exuberance. Her delight and joy.....her desire to merge with the birds, to be as one....to jump off that rooftop and soar into the sky like her playmates around her. Such a look of simple pleasure on her face....she seems lost in the clouds, at one with the moment. Lightness, airyness, song and dance, freedom, and the wind.....all feels so hopeful.

I see her little dog as protecting her from the fall. Holding her back from making that leap....literally balancing her so she doesn't plunge to the ground below. He cares about her and wants to protect her from hurting herself. No no, he seems to be saying. Keep those feet on the ground.....or the rooftop in this case!

There is so much airyness, movement, and light feelings in the card it kinda tickles my tummy, but at the same time the sense of danger is also present.

I love the woman on the roof. It immediately reminded me of Fiddler on the Roof, except she's dancing, not fiddling. I love the story about jumping off the roof, believing you will fly -- yes, the birds seem to promise that.

I think it is also a common feeling when we are young, and when we are in beginner's mind - and we are just oblivious to the dangers.

There's a poem by Rumi, where he warns a young poet (himself?)
to "...sitdown. You are drunk. And this is the edge of the roof."

I've always loved that. This card is about walking that edge, whether it's a cliff, a roof, or any new venture. There are so many things we would not try if we were always adult and cautious.

..but after reading this thread, I'm beginning to like it more. I'm new to this deck and the forum, so please forgive me for dredging up an old post.

I think the main reason this Fool card disturbed me is because it has been galvanized in my heart that women are strong, at least the women in my family, and don't have time for folly. So, this card upset me in a way.

Then, especially after reading the responses here, it made me think, "Hey, maybe it's okay to let go sometimes, to be free, to be alive".

Maybe this also hit me in another way personally. I'm contemplating a big career move, so this card brought all of those issues up for me, how free I would feel doing something that *I* wanted to do...even though it may not make sense to a lot of folks.

..but after reading this thread, I'm beginning to like it more. I'm new to this deck and the forum, so please forgive me for dredging up an old post.

My personal feeling is, no thread is too old to post on, unless it's been archived so that it actually CANNOT be posted to. That wonderful stretched out conversational feel is to me a big attraction of discussion boards like this one. So glad you have joined the party, I look forward to seeing your posts (and perhaps seeing others in new light).

Quote:

Originally Posted by flowergrrl

..I think the main reason this Fool card disturbed me is because it has been galvanized in my heart that women are strong, at least the women in my family, and don't have time for folly. So, this card upset me in a way.

Then, especially after reading the responses here, it made me think, "Hey, maybe it's okay to let go sometimes, to be free, to be alive".

Maybe this also hit me in another way personally. I'm contemplating a big career move, so this card brought all of those issues up for me, how free I would feel doing something that *I* wanted to do...even though it may not make sense to a lot of folks.

Anywho.:-)

As someone who has made such career choices myself, and as someone who believes one's life and freedom is one's own, however one chooses to claim them, I can empathize. It's scary to realize how much freedom we actually have, exhilerating and scary to make such choices, to design one's own path.
Best wishes, and don't forget to breathe and laugh at times.

I think it takes great strength and personal confidence to accept the risks and gifts of apparent folly, or those of a self-conscious and personally responsible life (whether or not it appears to conform to societal norms). I am not sure if the approval of family and/or friends is more a blessing or a burden, just as the lack of such approval can be both blessing and burden...

But at the end of our days, our life is what we have chosen and not chosen, and both carry responsibility.

Right smack dab in the middle of town
I found a paradise that's trouble-proof
Up on the roof....

I also thought in regards to women being strong -- 100 years ago, (or less)women who acted outside what was expected of them were considered mad, and consigned to the attic. Maybe she's escaped! And about to fly, though no one thought that possible. I love it.

And oh, I love the tiny roof beneath the world figure -- how far she's gone!

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